Typewriting machine



W. F. HELMOND TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed Sept. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 12 1924.

w. F. HELMOND TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed Sept. '7, 192-1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v Mum/0r. QMMK A? 41/ Patented Aug. 12, 1924.

PATENT ()FFlfiE.

UNITED ST ATES WILLIAIVL F. HELMOIID, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0 UNDERWOOD TYPEWRITER COIVIPANY, OF NE'W YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

Application filed September which ratchet-wheels having different numbers of teeth may be substituted for one another.

The line-space detent engages the notch of the ratchet-wheel immediately in advance of the notch occupied by the pawl at the end of its driving stroke. The number of teeth on the usual ratchet-wheels employed on a typewrit-ing machine seldom varies more than a few teeth, so that the amount of variation-between adjacent teeth is only a small fraction of a tooth-space. Hence, the detent will always be substantially in position to lodge in the tooth-space immediately pre ceding the tooth-space occupied by the actuating pawl.

Provision is also made of an overthrow pawl or stop, which is mounted in proximity to the actuating pawl so that only a few teeth intervene, and the overthrow pawl is operative with various ratchet-wheels.

Since ratchet-wheels having a coarser arrangement of teeth must be given a greater angular movement than a wheel having a liner arrangement of teeth to rotate it through the same number of line-spaces, provision is made for varying the position'of a slide and its actuating pawl to vary said angular movement corresponding to the various ratchet-wheels employed. The linespace lever pivot is also adjustable forwardly and rearwardly. The line-space lever operates between adjustable stops on the platen-frame. When the slide is adjusted forwardly to accommodate it to a ratchetwheel having a coarse arrangement of teeth, the pivot of the line-space lever is also set forwardly, thus increasing the throw of the slide as required. To further adjust the amount of angular movement of the linespace lever, the stops between which it ep- 7, 1921. Serial No. 499,015.

erates may be made adjustable to vary the distance between them and thus vary the throw of the lever and of the slide.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a fragmentary, perspective view, with parts broken away, of the carriage and platen-frame of an Underwood machine, with my invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a portion of some of the mechanism shown in Figure 1, showing the mechanism set for a S-tooth movement of the platen.

Figure 3 is a view, similar to Figure 2, but with the parts in different positions, showing the actuating pawl near the end of its stroke and on the pomt of engaging with the overthrow pawl.

Figure 4. is a perspective view, showing the actuating pawl, the overthrow pawl, and the screw on which the overthrow pawl is supported, removed from the rest of the mechanism.

Figure 5 is a side view, similar to Figure 2, showing the positions of the parts at the end of the driving stroke of the actuating pawl.

Figure 6 is a front view, partly in section, of the line-space lever and the adjustable stops.

Figure 7 is a view, showing, in separated relation, the elements of one of the adjustable stops.

Figure 8 is a plan view, showing one of the adjustable stops in position, the coverplate being removed.

Figure 9 is a plan view of the adjustable line-space lever operating between the adjustable stops.

Figure 10 is a side elevation, partly sectioned, of the device shown in Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a detail of the means for adjusting the position of the line-space lever.

In order to effect a line-space movement of a work-sheet in use, a finger-piece l at the end of a lever 2, pivotally mounted on the carriage frame 8, is moved to the right, and the corres ending movement of lever 2 is transmitted y means of an arm 4, forming a part thereof, to a slide 5 mounted in ,a ratchet-wheel mounted on a shaft 11 having suitable hearings in said platen frame, and carry ng a rotatable platen 12 around which the work-sheets are fed.

The extent of movement of the ratchetwheel 10, as a result of engagement of tooth 8 with the ratchet-teeth 9, is determined by means of a trip or shelf 13 on which the actuating pawl 7 rests. Said shelf 13 is carried by the usual slide 1% having a slotted portion embracing a pin 15, and said slide 1a isprovided with the usual recesses 16 for engaging a suitably-shaped projection 17 carried by a resilient detent member 18. At its forward end slide 1 1 may be pivoted to a lever 19 by which the position of shelf 13 may be adjusted.

For the purpose of holding said ratchetwheel 10 in proper line-space position, when not under the control of'the actuating pawl 7, provision is made of a roll 21 mounted in a yoke at the end of a detent lever 20, said roll engaging in the notches between successive teeth of the ratchet-wheel 10. Said detent lever is mounted on the pin 15, and is spring-pressed to hold roll 21 in engagement with the ratchet-wheel bymeans of a spring 22 coiled around said pm 15 and having an upper arm engaging a stop 28 on the platen-frame, and a lower arm hooked over said detent lever 20. This arrangement of the spring 22 obviates unnecessary pressure or friction on pin 15, and serves to make the movement of the detent depend more directly on the elasticity of the spring than with the springs previously used, It will be seen that detent lever 20 extends along a line substantially tangential to the upper surfaceof said ratchet-wheel 10. By thus mounting the lever 20, the detent will en gage said ratchet-wheel at a point near the actuating pawl when the latter has reached the end of its stroke. Preferably, the detent is constructed to occupy the space in the ratchet-wheel immediately preceding the space occupied by the actuating pawl at the end of its stroke. The number of teeth on the usual ratchet-wheels employed on typewriting machines seldom varies more than 5 or 6 teeth so that the amount of variation To, guard against overthrow of the ratchetwheel asaresult of quick movements of the line-space lever, provision is made in the present construction of an overthrow pawl or stop 24. pivotally mounted on the platenframe by means of a screw 25. Said overthrow pawl is provided with an arm 26 out of alignment with the main portion of said pawl, and to this arm is attached a spring 27, by means of which the overthrmr pawl is normally held in ineffective position. The other end of said spring 27 is connected. to an ear 28 projecting from a plate 99 secured to slide 5. It will be seen that spring 27 serves to restore slide 5 and consequently lever 2 to normal position, and to normally hold overthrow pawl 24 in ineil ective position. At its forward end, plate 2?) is provided with a holder 32, in which is supported a cushion or bulfer 83 of suitable resilient material, preferably leather, which is adapted to engage with stop 23 on the platen-frame. It will be seen that unuccessary noise is avoided by the use of said cushion.

For rendering the overthrow pawl 2 1- effective, it is provided with an offset lug or ear 34 normally lying in a recess 35in the lower edge of actuating paw] 7, said ear being engaged upon driving movement of actuating pawl 7 by a shoulder 36 at one end of said recess to move pawl 24 into the position shown in Figure 5. The overthrow pawl 24 is positioned in proximity of the actuating pawl and will, therefore, be elfective with ratchet-wheels having different numbers of teeth, because the variation in the distance between adjacent teeth in the wheels usually employed is small, and, hence, by placing the overthrow pawl near the ac tuating pawl, the total variation (which is the variation between adjacent teeth multiplied by the number of teeth between the pawls) will be small, and the overthrow pawl will remainoperative with various wheels.

It has been pointed out hereinbefore that a ratchet-wheel having a coarser arrangement of teeth must be given a greater angular movement than a wheel having a finer arrangement of teeth to turn it through the same number of line spaces, and that it was necessary therefore to vary the position of the slide and its actuating pawl and to provide means for driving said slide and paw] through corresponding distances. To vary the position of the slide and its actuating pawl so that said slide shall be driven a proper distance, it is necessary to vary the initial position of the slide. This is accomplished by means of the plate 29, which may be adjustably secured to slide 5 by means of screws 30 extending through slots 31 in plate 29, said plate abutting against stop 23, so that, by loosening screws 30, the slide may be moved forwardly or rearwardly relatively to the plate 29. The slide having been adjusted in position, it is necessary to adjust the pivot of the linespaee lever so that actuating arm 4 thereon will occupy its proper position just in front of the slide,

53 mounted eccentrically on said wheel and serving as a pivot or bearing for a hub 54: the line-space lever. It will be apparent that, by rotationg shaft 50 or wheel 52, stud 53 will be moved forwardly or rearwardly,

thus carrying the line-space lever and actuate ing arm 4iforwardly or rearwardly. Hub 54 may be held upon stud 53 by a shouldered screw 56 in the upper end of said stud, and shaft 50 may be held against upward movement by a similar screw'57 in the lower end of shaft 50. The lever may be held in adjusted position by a pin in the carriage frame and engaging in a tooth-space in' wheel 52. VVhenit is desired to adjust the position of "the lever, the screw 57 is partly removed to permit toothed Wheel 52 to be drawn upwardly out of engagement with pin 55 and rotated to a new position. The rotation of wheel 52 may best be accomplished by turning screw 56, as by means of a screw-driver, the adjustment being thus carried out withoutremoving lever 2 from stud 53. The toothed wheel is lowered into its new position where it is held by screw 57. The line-space lever is thus properly positioned relatively to the adjusted slide, Stops 87 are fixed to the carriage frame, and between them the line-space lever operates, so that, by moving the pivot of the line-space lever forwardly or rearwardly, said leverwill have a greater or lesser angular movement between the stops. The slide, and, hence, the lever pivot, is drawn forwardly when the teeth of the ratchetavheel are coarser and must be driven a greater distance, while the slide is drawn rearwardly when the teeth of the ratchet are finer and said slide must be driven a lesser distance. The bodily adjustment of the lever and its fulcrum also affords means for varying the extent of lost motion between arm 4: and slide 5.

The stops 37 may be made adjustable to vary the distance between them, said adjustment being substantially similar to the adjust-ment of the line-space lever. Each stop comprises a shaftSS bearing in a suitable opening in bar 39, a toothed wheel 40 being fixedly secured to shaft 38 and lying on the upper surface of bar 39, said parts 38 and 40 being coaxial, and a stud 41 fixed in eccentric position on wheel 40. To avoid unnecessary noise in operation, there may be mounted on studs ll collars t2 of resilient material, preferably rubber, with which said lever 2 engages. Members 38, 40 and 41 may be formed integrally, or separately, and secured together in any suitable manner. Members 40 and l1 may also serve as spacers for-the cover or trim-plate 43. In order to secure the parts in assembled position, the adjusting devices may be provided with threaded openings 44 coaxial with the toothed wheels 40 and shouldered screws 45 and 46 engaging insaid openings i i. In order to adjust stops 87, screws 4-5 and 46 are removed and stops 37 turned to the desired position where they will be held against rotation by means of pins 47 set in openings in bar 39 and projecting between adjacent teeth of wheels 40.

Variations may be resorted to witnin the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, a ratchet-wheel connected to said platen, an actuating pawl for said ratchet wheel, means for driving said pawl a given distance, means for adjusting the position of said pawl, and means for bodily adjusting said driving means to correspond to the adjustment of said pawl.

2. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a platen, a ratchet-wheel connected to said platen, an actuating pawl for said ratchet-wheel, a slide to which said pawl is attached, a lever for diving said slide and pawl a given distance, means for adjusting the position of said slide, and means for bodily adjusting said lever to correspond to the adjustment of said pawl.

'3. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a carriage, a platen rotatably mounted in said carriage, a ratchet-wheel connected to said platen, an actuating pawl for said ratchet-wheel, a slide to which said pawl is attached, a lever for driving said slide and pawl a given distance, stops fixed to said carriage and between which said lever operates, means for adjusting the position of said slide forwardly or rearwardly, and means for bodily adjusting said lever forwardly of rearwardly. i i 4. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a carriage, a platen rotatably mounted in said carriage, a ratchet-wheel connected to said platen, an actuating pawl for said ratchet-wheel, a slide to which said pawl is if attached, a lever for driving said slide and paw-l a given distance, stops fixed to said carriage and between which said lever operates, means for adjusting the position of said slide T, forwardly or rearwardly, and means for bodily adjusting said lever forwardly or rearwardlv, said lever having a pivot, and a support for said pivot being mounted in said carriage for rotation about a vertical axis,

said pivot being mounted eccentrically with pawl given distance, stops fixed to said carriage nd between which said lever operates, means for ad usting the position of said slide forwardly or rearwardly, and means for bodily adjusting said lever forwardly or tit) rearmirdly, said stops being adjustable to vary the distance between them to provide additional means for increasing or decreasing the angular movement of said lever.

' 6. In a typewriting machine, in combina tion, a carriage, a platen rotatably mounted in said carriage, a ratchet-wheel connected to said platen, an actuating pawl for said ratchet-wheel, a slide to which said'pawl is attached, a lever for driving said slide and pawl, said lever being pivoted on said carriage,'stops mounted on said carriage and be tween which said lever operates, and means for adjusting the position of the pivot of said lever forwardly .or rearwardly, said stops being adjustable to vary the distance between them to regulate the angular movement of said lever.

7. In a typewriting machine, in combination, a carriage comprising a main frame and i a platen-frame shiftably mounted in said 'mainframe, a platen rotatably mounted in said platen-frame, a ratchet-wheel connected to StIlCl platen, an actuating pawl for; sa1d ratchet-wheeha slide to which said pawl is attached, a lever for driving said slide and pawl a given distance, means mounted on said platen-frame for adjusting the position of said slide, means mounted on said main frame whereby the angular movement of said lever may be varied to vary the throw of the slide, and means for adjusting the position of the pivot of said lever.

' 8. In a typewriting machine, a line-space lever having a fulcrum, and a line-space pawl driven by the lever, sa'id'lever bodily shiftable upon its fulcrum to vary the normal position of the pawl for the purpose set forth.

9. In a typewriting machine, a line-space lever, a pivot therefor, a line-space pawl driven by said lever, a rotatable eccentric mounting for said pivot, and means for securing said mounting at different points of adjustment. 1

10. In a typewriting machine, a line-space lever having a fulcrum, and a line-space pawl driven by the lever, said lever bodily shiftable upon its fulcrum to vary the nor mal position of the pawl for the purpose set forth, said pawl being bodily adjustable for the purpose specified.

11. In a typewriting machine, a line-space lever having a fulcrum, a line-space pawl driven by the lever, said lever bodily shiftable upon its fulcrum to vary the normal position of the pawl for the purpose set forth, said pawl being bodily adjustable for the purpose specified, and an adj ustable stop to limit the stroke of said lever.

12. In a typewriting machine having linespacing mechanism, a slide for operating the line-spacing mechanism, a line-spacing lever for operating the slide, an element upon which the lever is pivot-ally mounted and means for adjusting the element to change the location of the pivot of the lever.

13. In atypewriting machine, line-spac ing mechanism, a line-spacing lever, a. r0- tat-ably mounted bracket upon which the line-spacing lever is mounted, and means for securing the bracket in difi erent angular positions to enable the line-spacing lever to be adjusted to the correct normal osition with relation to the line-spacing mec lanism.

14:. In a typewriting machine having linespacing mechanism, a carriage-frame, a bracket rotatably mounted on said frame, a line-spacing lever eccentrically pivoted on said bracket, and means for adjusting the bracket angularly and thereby adjusting the line-spacing lever bodily to bring it into correct relationship to the line-spacing mechanism.

15. In a. typewriting machine having linespacing mechanism, a slide for operating the line-spacing mechanism, a lever having a pivot. for operating the slide to effect linespacing operations, and means for bodily adjusting the lever and pivot to cause the lever normally to occupy a predetermined position with relation to the slide.

16. In a typewriting machine having linespacing mechanism, a line-spacer movable by the operator to operate the line-spacing mechanism and automatically returned to normal position, a. line-spacing lever for operating the line-spacer, a pivot for the lever, and means for adjusting the lover bodily together with the pivot with relation to the line-spacer.

17. In a typewriting machine, line-spacing mechanism, a line-spacing lever for operating said mechanism, a. pivot for the lever, and means for bodily adjusting the lever and pivot in a horizontal plane.

WILLIAM F. HELMOND.

I'Vitnesses SHIRLEY E. GLEDHILL, EDWARD AMERMAN. 

